Pure PlayStation

Codemasters Buy Slightly Mad Studios For $30 Million

You can’t deny that Codemasters like their racing games – what with the Dirt and F1 series both originating from the studio. But it looks as though they may have been craving a little more supercar action as they’ve bought Slightly Mad Studios for $30 million.

The deal does leave the future of Project Cars in doubt, though. The team of 150, plus codies’ own staff, will continue to work on the game for now – along with the portable version and an unnamed title. But things are always uncertain when two becomes one; budgets don’t always stretch in favour of both parties.

As a keen “home racer”, I’m not too sure how I feel about the move. Sure, Codemasters are a safe pair of hands to take over the steering wheel. But they also have a different way of doing things when it comes to the physics and assets of their games. To the extent that their games lean more towards the arcade side of the spectrum (F1, predominantly) whilst Slightly Mad Studios’ project always tried to cater to those wanting a more realistic driving experience.

If this acquisition means Project Cars 3 won’t see the light of day, or that it will be more forgiving when it comes to handling, the racing sim community will have certainly lost a valued asset.

That’s not to say Project Cars was perfect. At times, it was far from it. But sometimes it’s better to have than to have not, and this was certainly one of those times. It offered those without a computer a vast and realistic roster of tracks, along with a burgeoning garage of cars. And started an addiction that few can shake off.

Let’s hope Project Cars 3 continues to be developed and bucks the trend for both studios by releasing bug free. Otherwise we’ll have to wait for Assetto Corsa to get a sequel, which looks unlikely at the moment.